Transportation
BY LIZZY SPANGLER
BY NICHAELA SHAHEEN
City of Conroe secures $30M in funding for Foster Drive expansion project
lanes between 10th Street and South Loop 336. Update: According to a March 10 TxDOT media update, this project is 42% complete. • Timeline: March 2023-second quarter 2028 • Cost: $52.7 million • Funding source: state funds 4 South Loop 336 widening Project: Between I-45 and Ladera Creek Trace, South Loop 336 is being widened from two to four lanes with a continuous left turn lane. Update: This project is 6% completed, according to a March 10 media update from TxDOT. • Timeline: November 2024-second quarter 2027 • Cost: $20.6 million • Funding source: state funds 5 Hwy. 105 reconstruction Project: Between South Loop 336 and FM 1484, Hwy. 105 is being reconstructed and widened from two to four lanes. Update: According to a March 10 media update from TxDOT, this project is 93% completed. • Timeline: February 2023-third quarter 2025 • Cost: $90.81 million • Funding source: state funds
Upcoming projects
1 I 45 HOV Extension Project: Between FM 1488 and South Loop 336, I-45 will undergo a high-occupancy vehicle lane extension. Update: This project was set to begin in the rst quarter of 2025, according to a March 10 media update from the Texas Department of Transportation. • Timeline: irst quarter 2025-fourth quarter 2025 • Cost: $1.3 million • Funding sources: federal, state funds
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During its March 12 workshop meeting, Conroe City Council heard updates about the Foster Drive expansion project, including where the $37.3 million in funds for the project will come from. The project, which has been in development since 2018, aims to alleviate tra c congestion, improve safety and enhance infrastructure, coun- cil member Howard Wood said in the meeting. The details The project will widen the existing two-lane road with no sidewalks, to a four-lane road with sidewalks and drainage for stormwater, water and wastewater, Public Works Director Norman McGuire said during the March 12 workshop meeting. The road will also include an improved railroad crossing that features new gates, McGuire said.
According to the March 12 presentation, the cost breakdown includes: • $30 million in federal funding • $7.3 million in local government funds Diving in deeper A grant for the Foster Drive project was originally submitted to the Houston-Galveston Area Council in 2018 during its call for projects, McGuire said; however, it was denied. The city then resubmitted the project in 2023 to H GAC and was recently awarded the funds. Foster Drive serves as a high-tra c area with Conroe ISD’s Runyan Elementary School and the Oscar Johnson Jr. Community Center nearby, Wood said.
SGT. ED HOLCOMB BLVD.
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“This is another win for Conroe. We’re getting a $30 million project for less than a third of the cost to the city.” DUKE COON, CONROE MAYOR
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Ongoing projects
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2 South Loop 336 lighting Project: Safety lights, conduit, conductors and other electrical services are underway along South Loop 336 between I-45 and Sgt. Ed Holcomb Blvd. Update: According to a March 10 media update from TxDOT, this project is 96% completed. • Timeline: December 2024-third quarter 2025 • Cost: $518,164 • Funding source: state funds 3 Hwy. 105 widening Project: Hwy. 105 is being widened from two to four
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What’s next The project will enter the design phase two years prior to the bidding opening. Construction will begin in 2031, Purchasing Contract Adminis- trator Brandy Taylor said.
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MAP NOT TO SCALE N
CONROE 1304 W Davis (936) 539-8787 NORTH CONROE 18434 Hwy 105 W (936) 582-5410
MONTGOMERY PLAZA 1420 N Loop 336 W (936) 441-7161
WILLIS 9618 FM 1097 (936) 228-0385
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